Not many sports are as physically demanding on the human body as football. The physical toll that football players take is nearly impossible to understand unless you have actually played the sport for a significant period of time. However, until recently any link between the knocks suffered by football players and their health along the way was largely ignored. A common, but difficult to detect, injury in football is a concussion, the most common traumatic brain injury (Pearce). A concussion is defined as “a brain injury caused by a sudden blow to the head or body. The blow shakes the brain inside the skull, which temporarily prevents the brain from functioning normally” (Heiner pa.5). Reports and studies have emerged that shed light on how much damage is inflicted on the brain due to paralyzing strokes. These studies suggest that NFL athletes who have suffered concussions have suffered permanent brain damage, which opens the door to a multitude of other health problems such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and clinical depression (Pearce). This is an aspect of the game that not many are aware of and is a serious issue that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. There have been too many heartbreaking stories like that of Justin Strzelcyk who heard voices and died in an accident while fleeing from the police or that of Andre Waters who shot himself in the head after struggling with depression (Zarda pa.1). Many current and former players suffer in silence; this should not be the case. The National Football League must lend a helping hand to former players debilitated by head injuries. The problem of concussions and other head injuries in the NFL must be addressed head on. To begin with, the key to solving t... half of the document... 2010. . Web.Swift, E.M. “A Big Headache.” Sports Illustrated February 12, 2007: 22. February 19, 2010. . Web.Zarda, Brett. “Clashing heads.” Popular Science September 2007: 35. Academic OneFile. Network. 11 March 2010. Web.